Shloka 28
Sudeva Identifies Damayantī in Cedi (सुदेवेन दमयन्ती-परिचयः)
पश्यामो यदि तां पापां सार्थघ्नीं नैकदु:खदाम् । लोष्टभि: पांसुभिश्चैव तृणै: काष्ठैश्न मुष्टिभि:
paśyāmo yadi tāṃ pāpāṃ sārthaghnīṃ naikaduḥkhadām | loṣṭabhiḥ pāṃsubhiś caiva tṛṇaiḥ kāṣṭhaiś ca muṣṭibhiḥ ||
“ఆ పాపిని—సార్థాన్ని నాశనం చేసి అనేకులకు దుఃఖం కలిగించినదాన్ని—మనం ఎక్కడైనా చూస్తే, మట్టిగడ్డలతో, ధూళితో, గడ్డితో, కర్రలతో, ముష్టులతో (ఆమెపై దాడి చేస్తాం).”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames severe social condemnation of a grievous wrongdoer—someone who harms travellers and causes widespread suffering—implying that such acts violate dharma and invite collective censure and punishment. It also highlights the tension between righteous anger and the need for measured, lawful response.
Bṛhadaśva speaks about what they would do if they encounter a certain wicked woman described as a destroyer of a caravan and a source of many sorrows, declaring that they would assault her using whatever is at hand—clods, dust, grass, sticks, and fists.